Apr 10, 2014

Spider-Man Complaints That Need to Stop

As far as superheroes go, Peter Parker is a complex character. And by that, I mean he's full of contradictions. But we as fans have such set notions of who he is and what he should be like and what his reaction to any given situation would be, and for whatever reason, the idea of going back on a promise or lying or anything other than what's directly said on the page or the screen seems to befuddle a lot of fans. So here now, I present to you...

Spider-Man Complaints I Keep Seeing That Need to Stop

by Duy

Complaint #1: Spider-Man would never give up! Yes, this has never happened. Ever.

Amazing Spider-Man #18, by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko

Amazing Spider-Man #50, by Stan Lee and John Romita

Corporate superhero comics are cyclical in nature. Readers now probably were not reading the last time a particular story was done. The big difference is that things like this are going to be more protracted as time goes on, as you need more space and time to deal with emotions and fallout.

I'll just go ahead and say that yes, in the next 10 years, you will see a story where Spider-Man quits and gets replaced. You will see a story where Steve Rogers stops being Captain America. You will see many stories where Batman will mention his parents a lot, and it will probably be set in Crime Alley and involve pearls. Superman's origin will be retold again, and Iron Man will have to deal with his technology being used for the wrong purposes. These are part of these characters' overall makeup and composition, and if you're tired of seeing these stories repeat themselves, it's probably time to move on.

Complaint #2: Why is he so angry?!? I see this in relation, mostly, to the new movie franchise, mainly because people mostly remember Tobey Maguire whining and crying. Andrew Garfield's got a bit more of an edge, just like some dude I read in the comics.

Amazing Fantasy #15 (Stan Lee and Steve Ditko)

Amazing Spider-Man #30 (Stan Lee and Steve Ditko)

Amazing Spider-Man #37 (Stan Lee and Steve Ditko)

Complaint #3: How dare he date anyone else! Look, he can date people other than Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson and the Black Cat. It's okay. The issues where he dates them still exist; you can read them anytime; and those characters didn't get to the level they did without being given a chance for exposure to begin with. I'm sure people were really opposed to Felicia Hardy when she was introduced because she wasn't Gwen or MJ, but creators should have the opportunity to tell stories they want to tell with characters they want to tell it with.

(I'd also like to point out that sleeping with two women, especially when one of them is your ex, when you're single doesn't make someone a slut, as a good portion of fans apparently thought when he went to bed with Michele Gonzales and the Black Cat — separately, get your minds out of the gutter! — in the span of a few issues.)

Complaint #4: Spider-Man should never break his promises! He's about to break a big promise in the next movie, and apparently this is a big terrible thing. Wait, let's check out that time he forgot that whole "I'll never let a criminal go free anymore, Uncle Ben, I swear," vow...

Turns out that dude eventually finds this...

And leads someone to it, who eventually uses the equipment to become the Hobgoblin.

OH NO! And all because Spider-Man didn't want to go traipsing around in the sewers!

Amazing Spider-Man #4 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
Somewhere, some dude is reading this and taking Spider-Man's rationalization
at face value, instead of reading it as Spider-Man overly rationalizing.

Amazing Spider-Man #9, by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
At least Peter admits it this time.

Spider-Man is a great character, and he's often been called an everyman. But he's not an everyman because he's a genius or because he can leap three stories in a single bound or because he dates girls like Gwen Stacy in her go-go boots and Mary Jane Watson the supermodel and Felicia Hardy in her latex catsuit. He's an everyman because he makes mistakes, he's prone to undesirable traits, and he has to deal with the consequences of his actions.

Just like us.

You can read these stories in the following volumes below, from Amazon, or if you don't live in the States, through Book Depository:

Get Watching Time: The Unauthorized Watchmen Chronology

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